By CHRIS SMITH, SPECIAL TO THE P-I

Published 10:00 pm, Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Though it's still basically sound, my woven plastic greenhouse is showing signs of wear. It heads into its third winter wearing a double duct-taped patch over its former entry.

The stress of numerous zippings and unzippings of the front door eventually separated the zipper tape from the plastic surrounding the door. Deciding my cobbling skills weren't up to the task, I simply recruited my wife, Ann, and we applied the patch. Now the "back" door serves as entry.

The front door wasn't the only sign of wear; both interior screen doors (made of fabric mesh) are torn and useless. They had far less stress, so I'm not sure why they wore so fast.

Middle age notwithstanding, the skin of the structure is fully functional. This sunny morning, after frost overnight, the house was toasty warm inside. Night-time temperatures though, apparently are cool enough now to have signaled the one tomato and five basil plants still standing from summer that the end is near. Their leaves are spotty and growth essentially has stopped.

The basil will come out today, its good leaves headed for the food dryer. In its place I'll seed collards and corn salad. For now, the tomato plant gets to stay; I'm curious whether it can ripen any more fruits.

With summer crops occupying the greenhouse until mid-October, I got a late start seeding and transplanting winter crops. Arugula has just germinated. Mizuna mustard, kale and spinach haven't poked out of the ground yet. Florence fennel and three collard seedlings I started in late summer look healthy but still small.

Two years ago I learned to be patient with winter greenhouse crops. Though their development is undramatic, the plants do grow slowly. By February, I expect to be harvesting some leaves for salad. The real payoff will come March to May.

With the bigger, permanent, glass greenhouse I hope to get in a few years, I should be able to grow a few summer crops and have plenty of room for winter crops I can seed in September. Until then, I hope my middle-age plastic house holds up. Six or seven productive years wouldn't be shabby.

Cider and food

A few generations ago, carefully made hard ciders were considered the equals or even superiors of fine wines. Part of that good reputation came from cider's excellence as an accompaniment to food. Unfortunately, there are few dining establishments that offer guests a cider list. One exception is the la Pommeraie Bistro at Merridale Ciderworks in Cobble Hill, B.C.

When you're visiting Victoria and want a pleasant short excursion to the countryside north of the city, consider a visit to Merridale. Once there, take the short, self-guided tour through the orchard and the cider-making facility. Then return to the tasting room to sample the half-dozen or so ciders available that day. But don't rush off. It would be a mistake to miss the bistro.

Lunching or dining at la Pommeraie gives you the chance to pair fresh, seasonal food from local farms and shores with one of Merridale's tasty ciders. On a recent visit there with my brother and his wife, we enjoyed Fanny Bay oysters, a cassoulet featuring locally made sausage and impeccably fresh green salads. Each of us tried a different cider with the meal. The experience made a convincing case for cider as a mealtime beverage.

Merridale is open through the winter. Call 800-998-9908 or 250-743-4293 for the hours or to make a reservation. You may want to peruse its Web site as well, merridalecider.com.

In the meantime, don't delay your enjoyment of cider with food. Look for local, artisanal ciders at specialty grocers and farmers markets. Some of your quarry will come with labels like Westcott Bay Orchards, Red Barn Ciders, Irvine's Vintage Cider and Rockridge Orchard.

Create you own pairings and keep track of what you like. At our house we enjoy cider with Indian curries, shellfish (especially mussels), and cheeses. It also makes an excellent braising liquid for pork shoulder and other long-cooking meats.